Anders (crater)

Anders is a worn lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon.^[2] It lies just to the southeast of the outer rim of the huge walled basin named Apollo. To the south-southeast is the crater Leavitt.^[3]

The oval-shaped Anders G intrudes slightly into the southeast rim of Anders. There is a tiny double-crater formation attached to the exterior of the northeast rim, and a short valley cuts into the northern wall. The interior floor is relatively flat, and is marked only by a tiny crater on the eastern wall.^[4]: 121

Anders crater is named after the American astronaut William Anders (1933–2024). This designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.^[1] In 1968, Anders and his Apollo 8 crewmates became the first humans to orbit the Moon. Two nearby craters are named after the other crew members, Frank Borman (Borman crater) and Jim Lovell (Lovell crater).^[5][6] The crew actually chose several names for unnamed craters along their orbital track, including names of all three crew members, but these were disallowed by the IAU.^[7]